Securing America and Protecting Civil Liberties - Essay Example

Almost since its passage, The Patriot Act has come under fire as violating a number of civil liberties that all persons in the United States acquired with the passage of the Bill of Rights, specifically the First Amendment as well as the Fourth Amendment. It is my position that the passage of the Patriot Act, in fact, sought to ‘amend the amendments’, and take away basic freedoms and civil liberties, along with giving the government more power and control than was needed. Over 200 years ago, the Constitution was drafted in response to freedom from a different kind of terrorist – the King of England and the Parliament of England.

Determined never again to live in fear and oppression, the Constitution along with its ensuing amendments were drafted in order to give the American people basic rights and freedoms, and to ensure that they were never again taken away arbitrarily. First and foremost was the freedom to express an opinion without fear of reprisal. Closely following this was the freedom to protect private property and personal effects from unreasonable search and seizure. Since the passage of the Patriot Act, these amendments have both suffered. . Since the passage of the Patriot Act, no longer can one expect privacy when writing an e-mail, or having a phone conversation – and what is worse, the FBI or law enforcement does not have to show that there is ‘probable cause’ to break down anyone’s door with a search warrant.

Though there are supporters of the Patriot Act that have argued that the restrictions on civil liberties and freedoms are necessary in order to protect the country, others disagree, as do I. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has posted statements on their website that The Patriot Act violates the First and Fourth Amendments. Specifically cited is Section 215 of the Patriot Act, which gives the government the ability to look at the records of individuals that had previously deemed sacred.

The First Amendment had guaranteed the ‘right of the press’. Section 215, according to the ACLU, allows the government to request records from libraries, bookstores, and publishers, without probable cause. Thinking about reading The Anarchist’s Cookbook? Think again – the government may soon legally, thanks to the Patriot Act, be bursting through your door to ask why – or worse, throw you in jail. Agreeing with the ACLU is the Freedom to Read Committee of the Association of American Publishers, who issued a statement that read, in part, that “Section 215 presents a significant threat to investigative journalists who write about subjects that may be related to terrorism.

” Though the committee recognized and actually agreed that there was an “urgency” in providing federal and state law enforcement officials with information that could potentially lead to